JAMIE KERN LIMA
Co-founder of IT Cosmetics, sold to L'Oréal in 2016 for $1.2 billion. First female CEO in L'Oréal USA history
Jamie Kern Lima started IT Cosmetics with $25,000 from her TV journalism savings and got rejected by QVC seven times. When she finally got on air, she cried on live television about her rosacea — and sold out in ten minutes. L'Oréal bought the company in 2016 for $1.2 billion. She is now a bestselling author and investor backing women-led brands. The crying was not a weakness. It was the pitch.
Net Worth
~$500M
Nationality
American
Time Horizon
Long-Term
Risk Appetite
6 / 10
Net Worth Context
- · 500x the average American's lifetime earnings, stacked and waiting.
CAREER & BACKGROUND
Worked as a TV journalist at NBC and CBS affiliates in California before pivoting to entrepreneurship. Co-founded IT Cosmetics in 2008 with husband Paulo Lima using $25,000 in personal savings and no industry connections.
QVC rejected her seven times before granting a slot — she sold out in ten minutes on her first appearance. Grew IT Cosmetics into one of the best-selling prestige beauty brands in the US.
L'Oréal acquired IT Cosmetics in 2016 for $1.2 billion, becoming the largest acquisition in direct beauty history at the time. Named the first female CEO of a L'Oréal USA brand.
Left L'Oréal in 2019 to focus on writing and investing. Published Believe IT in 2021, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
COMPANIES & ROLES
IT Cosmetics — Co-founder & CEO (2008–2019, acquired by L'Oréal for $1.2B). JKL Investments — Investor in consumer and female-founded companies.
Author: Believe IT (2021, Crown Publishing).
INVESTING STYLE & PHILOSOPHY
Lima backs consumer brands with strong founder stories, particularly women-led businesses. Her thesis: authenticity converts.
She looks for founders who have lived the problem they are solving — exactly the reason IT Cosmetics worked. She favors brands with direct-to-consumer proof of concept over those still chasing product-market fit.
THE PLAYBOOK
Risk Approach
Calculated and conviction-driven. She risked her entire savings and years of career momentum on a beauty brand with no retail shelf space and no industry contacts.
But the risk was grounded in personal experience — she had rosacea, she used the product daily, she knew it worked. She takes informed risks based on lived expertise, not speculation.
Money Habits
Reinvested most early profits back into product development and QVC airtime. Bootstrapped IT Cosmetics for years without outside VC funding.
Post-acquisition, diversified into real estate and brand investments. Has said she was terrified of running out of cash during the entire early phase of the company.
BIGGEST WIN
The $1.2 billion L'Oréal acquisition in 2016 — especially given the seven QVC rejections, the bootstrap years, and the decision to hold equity and grow organically instead of taking VC money. Keeping the cap table clean meant owning the upside when the right buyer arrived.
BIGGEST MISTAKE
Holding back vulnerability for too long. Her breakthrough moment on QVC came when she stopped performing confidence she didn't have and just told the truth about her skin.
She has said publicly she wishes she had led with that honesty from day one instead of trying to look polished and put-together.
FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHY
Solve a real problem for real people, then tell the truth about why you built it. Lima started IT Cosmetics because she had rosacea and could not find makeup that covered it without looking fake.
That authenticity became the entire marketing strategy. Her philosophy: you cannot out-advertise a genuine story.
FAMILY & PERSONAL LIFE
Born in Boca Raton, Florida. Married to Paulo Lima, her business partner and IT Cosmetics co-founder.
They built the company together from their apartment in Los Angeles. Paulo handled operations and strategy while Jamie focused on product and sales.
EDUCATION
Bachelor's degree in communication and marketing from Washington State University. Built her early career in broadcast journalism before switching to entrepreneurship.
BOOKS & RESOURCES
The IT Cosmetics playbook written as a memoir
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks.
As an Amazon Associate, Netfigo earns from qualifying purchases. Book links above may be affiliate links.
QUOTES (5)
The moment I stopped trying to look confident and just told the truth about my skin, everything changed.
I got rejected by QVC seven times. Seven. And then they finally said yes — and I cried on live television and sold out in ten minutes.
We started this in our apartment with $25,000 and no connections and no retail shelf space. I am proof that the conventional path is not the only path.
I had rosacea and I could not find a product that made me feel like myself. So I built it.
You cannot out-advertise a genuine story. The truth travels faster than any marketing budget.
NETFIGO SCORE
Proprietary 5-dimension investor rating
Risk Appetite
Contrarian Index
Track Record
Accessibility
Time Horizon
Related Profiles
Investors
Barbara Corcoran
Both built major businesses from scratch with minimal starting capital and broke into industries where they had no obvious path. Corcoran sold real estate. Lima sold beauty products. Both made it on conviction and hustle.
Pat McGrath
Both McGrath and Lima built billion-dollar beauty businesses from personal conviction rather than industry backing. Lima solved a skin problem she had herself. McGrath spent decades mastering the craft before putting her name on anything.
Head-to-Head
Compare Jamie Kern Lima vs another investor.